The Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand's largest conglomerate, on Sunday issued a statement, saying it has never had a policy of supporting slash-and-burn agriculture, be it in the country or abroad.
In the statement, CP Group was referring to a pre-election debate on April 28 by politicians from various parties competing in the May 14 election. The theme of the debate was the PM2.5 dust pollution problems in the North.
During the debate, some debaters referred to CP in a way that could cause a misunderstanding to the general public with incorrect information, the company said.
First, the politicians said slash-and-burn was a method used by investors to cut capital costs. To this point, CP Group asserted it had never had a policy of reducing investment costs by promoting the method of cultivation in which forests are burned and cleared for planting.
CP Group went on to explain that in the past 10 years it has worked with farmers and society for a sustainable environment. During the past five years, CP had used the corn traceability system in buying corn. One hundred percent of corn seeds purchased by CP are legally produced, not from slash-and-burn practice, according to the statement, which added that CP had no policy of cutting costs by destroying the environment.
Second, it was said in the debate that animal feed investors had promoted contract farming and bought corn from farmers, without caring whether the farmers had used the slash-and-burn method. To this point, CP insisted it never promotes or purchases corn from farmers resorting to slash-and-burn.
CP asserted that it does not promote contract farming in areas where corn stubble is burned, in or outside the country. CP, with its corn traceability system, buys agricultural produce only from areas where there are no forest encroachments, according to the statement.